Side by Side
by ohsoclovely25
Summary: My *SYOT* is chapter 6 so please enter it! It is the 28th hunger games and I'd love tributes! *SYOT* open. Cato and Clove are the best of friends, but when both are selected to compete in the hunger games, will they be torn apart?
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Cato is over at the sword station, cutting off the heads of numerous dummies. Michael is camouflaging himself as the Cornucopia, which actually looks pretty real, and Arkaia is practicing her wiring. I have no idea why. I headed over to the knife station, where I go everyday. It get's quite boring but oh well. I long to go over to the sword station and prove to Cato that I am as good as him. Cato is strong and scary, everyone is afraid of him. Except for me. I guess that's why we're best friends. "Hello Miss Clove." Marcus, the knife co-ordinator, whispered as he handed me a cutting edge, freshly sharpened gold-plated knife. It felt so cool and nice in my hands. I flung it at high speed towards the middle of the dummy. It landed smack bang in the middle. "Perfect." I muttered to myself. I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around. "Hey Clove." It was Cato. "Can you teach me how to throw a knife? That was awesome." "Sure" I replied. "But then I get to battle you. In a sword fight." Cato looked angry. "No Clove. You know we're not allowed to verse each other." "But Cato…" I trailed off. "Clove…" Cato said sadly. "Not today." "Fine. Wednesday, the day after the reaping. Meet me here, 3:50am sharp." "Thanks Clove." Cato smiled and took me over to practice my spearing. I threw the spear at dummy. I swear it was going to hit the middle, but it got pushed aside by another spear. It was Cashmere and Gloss's sister, Satin. Her sharp, piercing eyes were fixated on me. I started to back away, intimidated, unaware of Cato staring at Satin. Satin seemed threatened by Cato. She ran away, disappearing behind a knife rack and peering around the corner of it, staring at us. Cato pulled me back to the knife station. "Clove. Are you okay?" "Yeah, Fine. She's just so…" I couldn't find the right word, "Intimidating. She reminds me too much of Cashmere and Gloss. Why did Satin have to move to District 2" I slumped into Cato's shoulder. Cato laughed. "Just throw some knives, weakling." That made me angry but I knew he didn't mean it. It was just to psych me up. I angrily thrusted knives towards every dummy, hitting them all in the centre. It felt extremely good. "There, look at Satin." Cato pointed out. Satin looked like she'd just pooped her pants. Cato and I laughed. Eristine Nimbark's voice boomed blaringly over the loud speaker. "Hello District 2! Yet another day of training has come to an end and for two of you, it might all pay off. Tomorrow is the reaping!" Everyone cheered. "Go home, have a good sleep and be prepared for tomorrow." Cato hugged me. "Good luck, Clove. You'll need it." He joked. "See you tomorrow." "Bye." I replied. After that, Arkaia came to wish me good luck and Michael waved too. I said goodbye to Marcus, just like I do every year, in case I get sent to the arena. "Good luck tomorrow Miss Clove. Remember, you are ready to volunteer if you feel up to it. People fear you. I believe in you, Miss Clove." Marcus patted me on the back and walked away swiftly. As I wandered home, I started to think about tomorrow, Satin and Cato. What if Cato get's reaped? Or volunteers? I'll have a 1 in 24 chance of losing my best friend. What if Satin gets reaped? She'd kill Cato first for sure. Before I knew it I was hyperventilating. I can't lose Cato. It's impossible. I slowly blacked out… When I woke up everything was hazy, just a big blur. Cato carried me to the reaping and fed me until I felt better. I could eventually stand. "


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Hello District 2!" It was Eristine Nimbark. "Today, one lucky boy and one lucky girl will be chosen to represent District 2 in the 74th annual hunger games!" Everyone cheered. I looked at Cato. He smiled reassuringly. "Now today, just for a change, boys first!" Eristine pulled out a name. "Michael Orbost," Oh no. Michael. He's not ready! Michael looked shocked, terrified and scared all at the same time. I heard rustling beside me. This can't be happening. "I volunteer." 16 voices said all at once. One was Cato's. I turned around to look at Cato. I was about to cry. Eristine looked around, trying to figure out who spoke first. "Cato Buchanan, please come up to the stage." "No! I screamed. I fainted. On live television. Luckily Arkaia woke me up in time for the girls. I new Marcus was right, I'm good enough to volunteer, and if I want to help Cato, that's what it'll take. "Ladies. Its… Clove Greenleaf. I realised that for once, there were no volunteers. How odd. This was it. "Clove Greenleaf, please proceed to the stage." As I walked onto the stage, I saw Cato, looking sad, hurt. He knew would have to kill me to win, and I know how much he wants to win. I suddenly felt bad. Cato was glaring at me. I felt highly intimidated by my own best friend. What if he tries to kill me? I'm sure he wouldn't do that. Would he? I shakily stood next to Cato. "I present to you, Cato and Clove!" Eristine smiled at us. "Thankyou!" She yelled to the crowd as she pushed us backstage. "Clove!" Cato yelled, his tone worried. I started to think maybe he was going to be nice after all. "Why did you do that? You can't die on me!" Cato hugged me. "I wanted to help protect you in anyway I could, and I realised that this is the only way." I said, unsure of what his response would be. He shook me. "But now we will have to kill each other, Clove!" Cato wasn't too happy. "You might not have to, if we come up with a plan." A voice came from behind us. I recognised it well. It was my mentor, Enobaria. A shiver ran through my spine as I faced her. "Clove, come with me. Cato, go with Brutus." Enobaria pointed towards Brutus. "Hurry along now." She shooed Cato away. " Clove, I'm not happy with you, not one bit." Cato yelled at me bitterly as he walked away. "Okay Clove. I will take you to the Justice Building where people will have three minutes to visit you. Then, on the train to the Capitol, I will give you life-saving advice. Clear?" I new that Eristine was supposed to be making the schedule but Enobaria is not the type to be messed with. "Yes." I replied. When we got to my little room, the first person to visit was Marcus. "Miss Clove, I knew you could do it! This is your year, train hard, listen to Enobaria and for once, have a go with the sword and you'll be fine." Marcus patted me on the back. "Good Luck, Miss Clove." I waved him off, not expecting any other visitors, but I guess I got lucky. Arkaia and Michael both wished me luck, even though they are more Cato's friends than mine. I didn't have any other visitors, so Enobaria came to my room and took me to the train.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

"As soon as the siren sounds, run to the cornucopia, kill anyone that gets in your way." I heard Enobaria whisper in my ear. I have no idea why she's whispering, but her advice sounds good to me. "Then, only let other careers join you is the fantasy world that you have in front of you, full of weapons, supplies, medicine and nutritional food. Make camp near the lake so that you'll have an endless supply of water. Once you set up camp it will most likely be night time, so go around with the other careers and catch some tributes off balance. After the first night, camouflage yourself so that you blend in with the environment around you. Slowly make your way around the arena and pick it free of tributes. Then it'll just be the careers." Enobaria's tips were really good. But something was missing. "What about the plan with Cato and I? I asked. "Give Brutus and I a day and we'll have it ready. Now go eat something." I proceeded to the food table. Most of the food was the same as in District 2 but there were a few different foods. I went over to a gold closh and when I opened the lid I found a splendid looking dish. Enobaria told me that it was pork intestines filled with a variety of meats, served with mashed potato. It sounded interesting and apparently it was called a 'sausage'. After I tasted the sausage, which was really delicious, I went and indulged on lamb. There was strawberry lamb, cranberry lamb, spicy lamb, sour lamb and any other type of lamb imaginable. I got so full that I had to have an afternoon nap, which I haven't had since I was five. Shortly after I went to bed, Eristine woke me up and said that we were arriving at the Capitol. Even though I have the luxury of living in District 2, I've never seen the Capitol before. The people there are crazy. I can see one woman who has shaved half her head and dyed her hair pink and her shaved half green. She's wearing a tomato coloured dress with brown stars and blue tights. Who wears that? Aside from the crazy people the Capitol is stunning. It's full of high skyscrapers, water features and technology even more advanced then what we have back home. I loved it. Who wouldn't? When we pulled into the station it was full of cheering Capitol people. I wondered how Cato was feeling right now. He's probably confidently waving to the crowd. So that's exactly what I do, and that's when they all start to cheer. When we come to a stop, Enobaria leads me to the carriage that consists of Cato and Brutus, They're in a deep discussion about types of swords, which I think is irrelevant to Cato's survival. "Cato, Clove. When we get to the station, walk off together. Look strong, mighty and make yourself a force to be reckoned with. Good luck." Cato and I walked out of the carriage looking stealthy, strong and ready for action. I'm sure we impressed Enobaria. "How was your trip?' Cato asked, not as friendly as usual but I guess he's still trying to forgive me. "Good." I replied. "Yours?" "Pretty good, but Brutus didn't really give me any advice, he just stared at me. It was intimidating." I laughed. "You never get intimidated." "I know, but you should've seen it, Clove." He mentioned in his defence. He ruffled my hair, I'm glad he's finally back to his usual self. Brutus, Enobaria and Eristine showed us the way to the District 2 floor of the Justice Building in the Capitol and then left to tuck into a juicy feast. Cato and I went to explore the floor and find our rooms. When we got to our rooms, I was quite surprised that Cato came up to me and without hesitation squeezed me really tightly. He obviously wasn't mad at me anymore. "I'm so sorry for being such a jerk, Clove." He apologised, "I was just caught up in the moment and… Well, I just don't want to have to kill you." I felt so sorry for him. "Cato. It's ok, Brutus and Enobaria are making a plan for us both to stay alive at this very minute. It will all be fine." I told him. He was grateful for that. "Now lets go watch the reapings, in my room." We both wondered into my room, not that amazed, it was lots like home, and sat down to enjoy the reapings.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

When I woke up and headed to breakfast, I saw Cato, outraged, trying to cholk Brutus. 'What the fudge, Cato! What are you doing to him?" I roared. Cato threw a punch at Brutus, which hit him under his eye. "These scrubs couldn't think of one single thing that would let us both win." Cato yelled at me, not in a mean way, just out of anger. "What!" I screamed in outrage. "You promised! How could you? There has to be one thing! Think!" I was so angry. "But there is just no possibility." Enobaria tried to explain. I gritted my teeth, but that didn't relieve my anger. I clenched my fist around the knife placed next to a plate of bacon. I thrusted it steadily towards Enobaria, I was horrendously angry. Enobaria ducked just in time. "Clove!" Enobaria screamed. "You could've killed me!" Enobaria ran out of the room, dragging Brutus over her shoulder. I didn't feel bad at all. "Let's get to training." Cato instructed. At training, I went and got rid of my anger at the knife station; Cato did the same at the swords. "Hey!" Cato roared at the boy from district 6, "Why'd you take my sword? Huh?" "I didn't steal your stupid sword!" The boy from district 6 yelled. While Atala, the head trainer, calmed Cato down, I went over to meet district 1. Their names are Glimmer and Marvel. Glimmer is blond, skinny, medium size and beautiful. Marvel is tall, like Cato but is rather lanky. He looks a little defenceless, if I wasn't a career, I'd pick on him for sure. I talk tactics with Glimmer and then Cato comes back and interrupts us with some news about 12. And he was right to. As Cato pointed out, the boy from district 12 is completely hopeless. "We'll let him in when the games start, to get to the girl." Cato whispered to me. I gave him a sly smile. He was a genius. That boy Peeta really was hopeless. He tried to impress us by throwing a massive heavy ball of metal. Where would that come in handy? We smiled smugly and walked away. The girl from 12, Katniss I think her name is, seemed to like that. Maybe she thought that impressed us. As if 12, not in a million years. What Gamemaker would put a massive metal ball in the cornucopia? Not even that one that stunk like rubbish would've done that. As we head back to the elevator, I notice Marvel staring at the little girl from 11. "I'll kill her," I heard him mutter to himself. Back at our floor, Cato and I discuss Glimmer and Marvel. He seems to be pretty disappointed with them, just like me. Cato tells me exactly how to get straight to the good weapons in the heart of the cornucopia and also informs me that Gressd, the boy from 9, is a master at saw blades. "If you see any saw blades, even if they're in a backpack, grab a knife and get ready to aim for there, I know he'll be there." Cato whispered. "And watch Katniss. Kill her as soon as you can. She stole our spotlight at the tribute parade, I hate her guts." He added. "I hate her too." I muttered. After filling our bellies with Capitol food, we finally saw Enobaria and Brutus. "Hi Clove, Hi Cato." Enobaria groaned. "We finally figured something out." I was amazed. "What?" I said excitedly, "But you said you couldn't. How far did you go just for us?' I asked in awe. "Well it wasn't really for you but for my life." Enobaria whispered to herself. I sighed. "We're sorry about that." I apologized. "Right, well anyway Brutus and I figured out that there is a chance that you can both win. Just use your brains and find a way." Enobaria told us. I thought she was joking, but she wasn't. I felt steamed. "Don't do anything Clovey." Cato whispered. "Fine." I stuttered. "Promise?' He asked. "Promise." I replied. I waited a bit but couldn't hold it any longer. I'm so sorry Cato. "Get out of here before I throw another knife!" I threatened. Before I knew it, an arm came flying towards my head, a strong, male, Brutus-like one. I fell to the ground, head spinning and ears ringing. My last thought… I won't make it to the games.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

I felt like I did the day of the reaping. Dazed and weak. Except this time, Cato wasn't here with me. Cato was down in the training centre without me. How could he just leave like that? I thought he was my friend. Through the fogginess that was my vision I was able to see the glistening of the sun beaming through my window. It was delightful. I dragged myself over to the sweet aroma of gorgonzola and cranberry pie which I had a massive slice of. I stretched my arms up to my face and felt that my whole right side was swollen and probably bruised. I decided to go back to bed before I made a mess of myself.

When I woke up, my vision was a bit better though I found myself staring at Cato. I am hallucinating for sure; he probably hates me after last night. I promised not to abuse Brutus and Enobaria again. But then who took me to bed last night? Brutus or Enobaria wouldn't have. I blinked. Cato was still there. "Cato?" I groaned. "Shh." Was the only response I got. I strained my eyes, searching for answers until I saw the same dark green eyes that fell upon me the day of the reaping. "Cato, I know it's you." I said sleepily. His cool hands cradled my face until the smooth sensation of bandage took over. Before I knew it Cato had slipped a pill into my mouth and sent me back into the sleepy world in which my brain controls.

In the morning I was nearly back to my usual self. My head was still thumping and my ears were still ringing slightly but I could live with that. Cato came in as soon as he woke up and begged me to let him feed me. No matter how hard I tried to reject it just made him want to feed me more. I asked him why he wasn't angry with me. He said he was very angry. But then he just got over it and said there was no point seeing that we were best friends and all. I smirked at him. He winked at me. "Clovey, please come and train with me. Please." Cato whispered in my ear. "As long as you hit me with all the medicine you have." I replied. He rubbed cream all over my head and popped about eight different coloured non-drowsy pills in my mouth. Then I had to have this repulsive earwax flavoured liquid. It was toxic. I shuddered. I trudged down to training with Cato. Glimmer was at the bow and arrow station. Bad move. 'Cato, watch Glimmer. How much worse could she get?" I asked. Cato chuckled quietly as Glimmer missed the target by 10cm. Haha Glimmer. I can't wait to secretly kill her in the arena.


	6. Chapter 6

TRIBUTE FORM

District:

Name:

Gender:

Age:

District:

Personality:

Strengths:

Appearance:

Weaknesses:

Abilities:

Token:

Alliances:

Reaped or Volunteered:

Reaction?:

Romance:

Score:

Strategies:

Weapon:

Arena Ideas:

Outfits:

Anything Else?:


End file.
